The Exchange Program
by Elizabeth Mitchell
Summary: Summary: Our favorite Head Boy and Girl head to sunny Southern California for a student exchange program. Will they kill each other before the year is through or will they manage to turn a lifelong rivalry into something more?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Our favorite Head Boy and Girl head to sunny Southern California for a student exchange program. Will they kill each other before the year is through or will they manage to turn a lifelong rivalry into something more?

Story Notes: So this is your warning for this story. NOTHING IN THIS STORY IS CANON! Well some stuff is, but I pretty much threw canon down the garbage chute with this one and my evil way the characters. You have been warned. :D

Disclaimer:The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Chapter One: Hermione's Letter

As Hermione Granger sat at the breakfast nook in her parent's house eating a bowl of cereal she heard a sharp rap at the window and her heart began to race. She jumped up and dashed to let the small sandy-brown owl through the window. Quickly she untied the envelope from its leg and gave it a tiny piece of meat before it flew off into the sky.

She almost shrieked with joy when she saw the Hogwarts seal on the back. Hermione had been waiting for this letter ever since she left school at the end of last year.

Suddenly she grew hesitant to open it. _"What if it doesn't tell me what I want it to,"_ she thought nervously. _"It certainly feels much too thin to contain a Head Girl badge."_

Cautiously, Hermione started to break the seal but stopped just before it cracked. She couldn't do this. Her stomach was doing flip-flops and cartwheels, she really felt like she was going to be ill.

"Oh good Gods, woman! You've faced Voldemort himself but you can't open a bloody envelope!" she berated herself out loud.

Gathering every ounce of her so-called Gryffindor courage she ripped open the letter and unfolded the parchment. She gasped and screamed when a shiny gold Head Girl badge slipped out into her hand.

Her parents came barreling into the kitchen upon hearing her scream to find their daughter doing an odd sort of dance.

"'Mione, what in the bloody hell are you doing!?" Michael Granger shouted at his daughter.

"What? Oh, you mean the screaming right?"

"Yes, but also the dancing _thing_, if you can call it that." He mumbled. He loved his little girl but sometimes she was just plain _weird_.

"Oh, well I just received some amazing news Daddy!" she paused for dramatic effect, "I just found out that I made Head Girl!"

"Oh Love that's great!" her mother Mackenzie gushed.

After doing another short victory dance and eating a celebratory bowl of ice cream with her parents. Hermione realized she hadn't actually read her Hogwarts letter yet.

_Dear Ms. Hermione Granger,_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is pleased to welcome you back for you back for your seventh year. We are also extremely excited to offer you the position of Head Girl this year. We sincerely hope you'll accept the position as it comes with a few added perks this year. Attached to this letter you will find a list of required supplies and extra information about the new opportunities that await you this coming term._

_Congratulations on making it to your seventh and final year at Hogwarts and making Head Girl; it is quite an accomplishment._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall_

"New opportunities" Hermione thought out loud, "I wonder what that means."

Eagerly, she flipped to the "extra information" and read:

_Dear Ms. Granger, _

_As you've undoubtedly already read, the title of "Head Girl" comes with a few extra perks this year. This is a project I've wanted to try for a few years but was unable to because of the threat posed by Voldemort. However, now that the scaly bastard has been vanquished by you and your friends, I can finally commence with the project._

_This year the Head Students will be given the choice participate in an exchange program of sorts. The first semester of your seventh year will be spent abroad in sunny Southern California at Washington High School for Witches and Wizards (Oh, those silly Yanks and their affinity for naming schools after their dead presidents). Anyhoo, you will spend the first semester there studying most of the same subjects as you would here with a few added courses. After the Christmas holidays you will return to Hogwarts with the two Head Students of Washington High so that they can complete their semester of the program._

_I truly hope you will agree to take part in this once in a lifetime experience. I look forward to your arrival at Hogwarts two days prior to the start of the term so we can fill you in on the details of the program._

_Wishing you all the best,_

_Headmaster Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione just barely resisted the urge to let out another scream and settled for giggling like a mad woman instead.

"Mum! Dad!" she yelled while running at breakneck speed into the den. "You'll never believe this!"

"Good Lord, you're jumpy today 'Mione," Michael scolded her.

"Sorry, Dad it's just that I've just received some great news. It's even better than making Head Girl."

"Oh, no this I've got to hear," Mackenzie chuckled.

Hermione, being far too hyper to calmly explain the situation to her parents, just shoved the letter into her father's hands. Then, after what seemed like an eternity to Hermione, her parents finally looked up at her.

"Uh-oh," she mentally panicked. "That doesn't look good."

Author Notes: Dun Duh Dunn… hehehehe. So I have set up the story with this chapter. But we still don't know who the Head Boy is (I'll give you a hint though. He isn't a Gryffindor. Thank God!).

Oh, please review. It makes me feel good. Not to mention it feeds my muse. She is such a little attention whore. Lol ;D


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Chapter Two: Her Decision

After what could really have only been a few seconds but felt like a millennium, Hermione's mother began to speak.

"Love, I don't know if this is such a good idea, with the war just ending and all."

"What do you mean, mum? I would think that that would make it safer to go now than ever before."

"No sweetie, that's not what I mean," her mother soothed. "I just thought that now that the war is over you would want to spend some time just being a normal teenager. You know, have a sense of normalcy again."

"Mum when have iI/i ever been normal?" Hermione chuckled sarcastically.

Her dad laughed at that. "She's got a point 'Kenze. Even when she was a little girl she was always so much more mature than all the other kids. I don't know if I could imagine her trying to be like everyone else. It just isn't iher/i."

Mackenzie seemed to mull over her husband's words and finally appeared to have come to a conclusion.

"Hermione if this is what you really want to do then I'll agree to it, but I think you should talk to Harry and Ron before you make your final decision."

"Oh Mum thank you!" Hermione squealed with joy.

Then she flew upstairs to floo-call Harry and Ron who were both staying at the Burrow.

"'Mione I think that it's a wonderful idea." Harry encouraged her. All of a sudden he started cracking up uncontrollably, "S-s-s-sorry I j-just had the fleeting thought that it w-w-would be blood hilarious if Theo made Head Boy."

If looks could kill, then Hermione's glare would have turned 'The Boy-Who-Lived" into "The Boy-Who-Lived-Just-To-Be-Killed-By-His-Best-Friend-Mere-Months-Later."

Theodore Nott (of Slytherin fame – or at least in his own mind) was Hermione's ex-boyfriend. Saying they had parted badly would be the like calling Voldemort a mere "bad-guy". In other words, a HUGE understatement.

iHermione and Theo had been in her bedroom at Grimmauld Place snogging when Theo tried to take things too far for her taste. At first she gently brushed his hand away from her jeans zipper. When he didn't take the hint she pushed his hands away and said "Not yet Theo."

When the moron/i stilli tried to push her she jabbed her wand down his trousers and hissed:

"Theodore Nott if you try to undo my jeans ONE MORE TIME I swear to Merlin I will hex your balls off so fast you won't know what hit you!"

Then the git had the audacity to say:

"But /iHermsi (Gods she hated that infernal nickname) if we don't do it tonight then I'll lose-"

"You'll WHAT?!"

"Oh bugger."

"No, really Theo, I want to know what will happen if I don't sleep with you tonight?" she repeated dangerously.

"Uh, well, I'll lose the bet I made with Malfoy."

"So let me get this straight." She began slowly, "You made a bet with the Ferret that you could get me to sleep with you in under two weeks, right?"

"Ummmm, yeah."

"And what does the loser have to do?"

"Set off a 'Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bang' at the Welcoming Feast, the winner's homework for the entire first two months of school, and streak at Graduation."

Hermione cackled darkly, "Oh, well in that case, let's do it."

"REALLY?"

"Of course! We can't let Malfoy win a bet like that now, can we?"

If Theodore Nott had been a more intelligent man (or perhaps one that wasn't so distractedly aroused) he would have immediately realized that something was amiss. As it was he missed the sadistic glint in Hermione's eye and was instead relieved.

"Oh Gods, thanks Herms! I was worried there for a second." The idiot breathed.

"You should have told me right away, we could have done this days ago."

She walked closer to him and whispered into his ear, "In fact, as a reward for making Malfoy look so stupid, I might even blow you first."

Theo groaned, "Oh fuck Herm, would you really?"

In response Hermione dropped to her knees and started to unzip his trousers. She pulled out his hardened length and while stroking him she cast a silent and wandless "Bat-Bogey Hex" on his balls.

The git started screaming his head off and fled from the room with his pants still around his ankles. Of course, his pants caused him to trip down the stairs and land flat on his arse.

When Hermione walked out of the room she found a circle of order members and her friends all surrounding the "half-naked, half-aroused, bat-bogeyed" heap that was Theo Nott.

All she heard was a mumbled "Fuck" from Theo before he passed out and all Hell broke loose./i

She hadn't spoken to the git since then either, hence, why she was currently given Harry her "death glare."

"Aw, come n 'Mione you have to admit the end result was bloody hilarious." Harry whined.

Finally, she too, cracked a smile before giving in.

"Yeah, ok. I agree it was kinda funny."

Out of the blue Ginny showed up in the grate, shoving Ron out of the fire.

"Oi, Hermione, I just heard and I'm soooooooooooooooooooooo jealous! I would KILL to spend a semester in California. Just think about all the amazing surfer guys you'll meet!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the difference between her and her best girlfriend. Here she was thinking about all the career opportunities this would open up for her and all Ginny could think about was half-naked men.

"Oh please," she heard Ron grumble in the background, "it's not like she can find anything over ithere/i that isn't already here."

She heard his angry footsteps retreating up the stairs and suddenly worried that maybe she was doing the wrong thing.

"Oh, don't listen to him 'Mione. His just still mad that you broke up with him," Ginny retorted.

"But maybe he's right Gin'. I mean I didn't end things very well with him and I don't want this to damage our friendship anymore than it already is. Maybe the timing of this just isn't right." Hermione groused.

"Oh no you don't, Hermione Jean Granger! You will NOT let my idiotic prat of a brother ruin this for you, do you hear me?" Ginny admonished in her nearly perfect Molly Weasley imitation.

"I have to agree with Gin' on this one, love." Harry endorsed, "He's not even worthy of your friendship right now if he's willing to try and screw this up for you."

"I know Harry; I'm just worried about him."

"How about I make you a deal, Hermione?" Ginny wagered. "I'll watch over the 'sulking git' for you, if you watch hot Californian guys for me."

Harry and a few other Weasley men groaned at that.

"Okay, Gin it's a deal." Hermione laughed. "I guess I should start packing because I have to leave the day after tomorrow. Unfortunately I won't be able to ride the train to school with you all this year."

"Oh don't worry about it love, just make sure you owl us at least a hundred times a day." Harry joked.

"And watch for hot men!" Ginny interjected. "Remember I'm living vicariously through you!"

"Alright I will. I love you all and I'll talk to you soon! Give my love to Ron, too, will you?"

"Of course, love. Bye!"

"Bye!" Hermione closed with a smile on her face as "I-Miss-You-Already-Tears" streaming down her face.

"Mum, Dad, I'm going to California!" she yelled to her parents, wherever they were.

And with that Hermione began to pack for her last year of school.

Author's Notes: Hehehehehehehehehe to Theo. Sorry to all you Theo lovers out there, I am usually one of you but he was just the first Slytherin besides Draco who came to my mind.

Oh and don't worry, Draco will get what's coming to him for his part in the bet. (Rubs hands together while grinning maliciously.)

Oh and also Ron is an arse. I don't know why but I just always write him that way. I'm not really sure how he'll end up in this story yet.

Anyhoo please review. :D


	3. Chapter 3: His Letter

Chapter Notes: Sorry about the wait everyone. Real life decided to step in this past month and make writing nearly impossible.

Anywhooo, today we find out who our Head Boy is. (Just in case writing his name in the characters list wasn't enough of a hint lol)

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Draco Malfoy was bored. There really wasn't another word to describe it. Yes, Draco Malfoy was bored, which was odd if you thought about it seeing as he had just about EVERYTHING an almost seventeen year old wizard could want. The only problem was that he hadn't been able to leave the Manor in months. Apparently it didn't matter that Draco actually fought on the side of the light in the war. Nope , according the Wizarding world, his father was a Death Eater so, so was he.

Who would have thought that he Draco "The Slytherin Prince" Malfoy would have fought alongside the Golden Trio in the Final Battle? But that is what he did.

Of course that doesn't mean he enjoyed it. No, he fought it to the very end. Then as if his life couldn't get any more annoying, he had to go into hiding with his mother because "it was just too dangerous" for him out there right now.

"Puhlease!" He fought Voldemort, surely he could handle any other morons who might want to injure him. The only reason he actually agreed to this was because his mother broke down in tears, begging him to hide until the next school year.

Suddenly he heard the sharp "tap-tap" that signal the arrival of an owl at the window and strode over to let the blasted thing in. He knew immediately that the envelope contained his Hogwarts letter, because honestly who else would be writing to him.

What he wasn't expecting was the shiny silver Head Boy badge that fell out of the package.

"What the Hell?" he questioned "I could have sworn Pothead would be Head Boy, especially since he 'saved the Wizarding world' and all that crap." Draco had a slight "talking to himself" problem.

As he quickly read though his letter he grew curious as to who the Head Girl was this year. He would bet a hundred million galleons that it was Granger. Gods, that would be torture, to have to spend a semester abroad with HER. Just the thought of it almost made him want to turn down the offer. Almost.

Draco, being the Slytherin that he was, started thinking of the advantages this could offer him. If he became friendlier towards "the World's Most Famous Mudblood" it could shine a positive light on him. It probably wouldn't be all that bad either. At least she had some brains. If he had had to do this with Pothead or Weaselbee it would have been a million time worse.

Hell, it couldn't be that bad could it? It wasn't like anyone in America would know he was the son of a Death Eater. He might be able to start over. Yes, this might actually be a GOOD thing.

That night at dinner Draco brought up the exchange program to his mother. He had actually been sure that she would say no. Imagine his surprise when she whole-heartedly approved.

"Oh, Draco darling I think that's a wonderful idea! I have actually been thinking that it is probably best to get you as far away from Britain as possible."

"Really, Mum? I would have thought that you'd want to keep me as close as possible after all this crap."

"Oh, it's not that I don't want you close to me, because I do. No I just think that the farther you are from people who might want to hurt you, the better." Narcissa emphasized with a loving smile.

If there was one thing anyone who knew Narcissa Malfoy knew about her it was that she loved her son more than life itself and would do anything in her power to keep him safe and happy.

So that night while Draco began packing for the school year, Narcissa began to search for a vacation home on the southern coast of California. After all it wouldn't do to be too far from Draco should he need her.

Narcissa was glad Draco was getting the chance to get away from Hogwarts. She thought they could both use a fresh start and this seemed perfect.

Author's Note: So this chapter was kind short and really late, but that might be because I seem to be incapable of writing a chapter that is longer than 1,000 words. Grrrrrrr frustrating. Oh well

So whatdya think? And how many of you guessed Draco? (Me yay! Lol) I always thought Narcissa should have stood up for Draco even more than she did. Maybe then JKR wouldn't have felt the need to put him with Astoria fricking Greengrass, and put him with Hermione instead. Oh well. (Yea, I just realized I say that a lot).

Anywhoooo, Reviews please?????? I will love you forever if you do. :D


	4. Chapter 4: the Details

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait again, but this is probably the rate I'll be updating at. Real life demands my full attention, unfortunately. 

I may have gone a bit overboard with this conversation. I just really wanted to get some of the big differences between Hogwarts and Washington High out of the way.

Chapter 4: The Details…

Hermione couldn't help the small shiver of excitement she felt as she gazed up at Hogwarts. This was her home and she was finally back, if only for a few hours.

She was also extremely anxious to find out who the Head Boy was. She was praying to Merlin above that it wasn't Theo. Gods, that would be just awful.

As she stepped into the entrance hall she was met with a rather unexpected face.

"Malfoy?" she questioned. "What are you doing here?"

i'And they call her the brightest witch of the age!'/i Draco thought to himself. "Why do you think I'm here, Granger?"

"Oh Gods! You're Head Boy!?" Hermione asked, her stomach filling with dread at the thought. Then quickly catching herself, "I'm sorry Malfoy. That was rude. Congratulations."

i'Wait a minute!'/i Draco thought, i'Did she just /iapologizei?'/i

"Uh, It's alright, I rather thought the same thing when I found out as well."

Hermione laughed at that. "Well at least you're not Theo."

Draco looked puzzled, "Don't tell me you are still mad at him."

"Of course I am!" she snapped indignantly. "What he did was unforgivable." She hadn't forgotten that he hadn't received his punishment yet either.

"Oh please, Granger. It was just a joke. Stop being such a bloody prude and get over it."

"Whatever, Ferret." She bickered, "let's just go talk to Dumbledore, shall we? Oh and by the way, not that it's any of your business, but I am NOT a prude."

"Yeah sure you're not, Granger. I bet you are the last virgin left in our year."

"I'll have you know that I almost slept with Ron last year. iHence/i I am Not a prude!"

Draco looked as if he was going to be sick after hearing that but recovered quickly enough. "Ew. Granger, I did not need the mental image of you and Weaselbee shagging."

Hermione had to agree with that sentiment. The only reason she and Ron had gotten that far was that Fred and George had fed them chocolates that were laced with Firewhiskey and an extreme aphrodisiac. Luckily, Ron passed out before anything life-altering happened.

Fortunately they had just reached the stone gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office.

"Everlasting Gobstoppers." They both said at the same time.

"You know one of us saying the password would have been sufficient." Draco nagged.

"Nobody asked you to open your mouth, Malfoy. You didn't have to say it."

Hermione was feeling highly frustrated by the time she reached up to knock on the Headmaster's door and Draco's off-key humming wasn't helping. She was very relieved when the Headmaster opened the door with the usual gleam in his eye.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger welcome back to Hogwarts. Do come in, we have much to discuss."

Then, as if sensing Hermione's distress, he offered them a lemon drop. She took one gratefully as she had figured out years ago that they weren't ordinary lemon drops. No, the Headmaster had them laced with a gentle calming draught. It seems odd to her that no one else had figured that out yet seeing as he only ever offered them in tense situations.

"Well I would like to personally congratulate you both on your positions and actually making it this far. You should be proud as it is quite an accomplishment."

"Thanks," muttered Draco.

"Thank you, sir."

"I suppose you want to know about the exchange program, right?"

"Yes, please." Some of the younger Hermione must have come back as she was practically vibrating with excitement.

Draco just sneered while Dumbledore chuckled. He was amazed at the innocence Ms. Granger still possessed after everything she had been through. She was truly enchanting to observe and he hoped she would rub off a little on Mr. Malfoy. There were, after all, methods to his madness. Why else would have picked Draco Malfoy over Harry Potter for Head Boy?

"Well, first off, as you know you will be going to school at Washington High School for Witches and Wizards. Now, I must warn you, the Americans are much more connected with Muggle culture than we are. Therefore you will be taking some courses that are taught in American Muggle schools. You schedules will consist of the following: Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, United States History, American Literature, and Algebra."

"Wow." Hermione breathed while looking delighted. She had always wished Hogwarts offered Muggle courses as well.

Draco, on the other hand, looked repulsed. He didn't really care that the classes were Muggle based. He'd gotten over his prejudices long ago. But he thought nine classes was bloody insane! What kind of seventh year took NINE classes!? Then he looked to his right and had his answer.

"Good Gods woman! Calm down will you. You are going to break the poor chair you're so bouncy." Draco admonished.

Hermione blushed as red as a Weasley but did calm down enough to surreptitiously flip him the bird under her seat.

Dumbledore thought he better continue and did so after subtly pushing the bowl of lemon drops towards them. "You will also both be eligible to play on their sports teams. They do play Quidditch but they also have football and baseball."

Hermione really didn't care about sports much, she was rather uncoordinated when doing and physical activity except dueling. So instead she asked, "Sir, do they have any performing arts?"

Draco's jaw hit the floor. Granger could sing? Dance? Act? When did that happen?

Hermione did her best to ignore Ferret-face and pay attention to the Headmaster but the look on his face was priceless.

"As a matter of fact they do have a theater program and a choir."

"Oh that's great!" Hermione practically squealed.

"As for your rooming situations," Dumbledore began, bringing Draco out of his reverie, "you will share a dorm with Washington's two Heads. And that is as much as I know on the matter."

"Thank you so much for the information Professor, it really was helpful." said Hermione.

"Of course, Ms. Granger. But we do have one last piece of business to attened to before your portkey departs. You both have to choose students to take your place as acting Heads until you come back next semester."

Draco hadn't even thought of that and judging from the look on her face neither had Granger.

"Now, just to make it a little more interesting I want Ms. Granger to pick the Head Boy and Mr. Malfoy to pick the Head Girl." Dumbledore smirked. He really was an evil little genius.

"Oh, well that's easy for me sir," Hermione replied quickly, "I choose Ron Weasley for Head Boy."

The two men in the room had completely different reactions to this decision. Malfoy was stunned. Granger just picked the biggest, dumbest, apey-est Weasley to be Head Boy over "the-Boy-Who-Lived." Was she insane?

Dumbledore on the other hand was pleased and not at all surprised. Hermione knew being Head Boy was the last thing Harry needed right now and Mr. Weasley would do an excellent job of it. In fact this was precisely why he had her choose the Head Boy.

"He's a wonderful choice, Ms. Granger. What about you Mr. Malfoy?"

i'Oh shit,'/i Draco thought. He had been too busy wondering about Granger's sanity to choose anyone. So he just said the first girl to come to mind, "Pansy Parkinson."

At that everyone in the room, including Draco, had the same thought, iWhat the hell!?/i

"Er, very well Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Parkinson it is," said Dumbledore disbelievingly. How the hell did that on happen? Shouldn't he have seen that coming? Oh well, that's what you get for over-estimating the mind of a Malfoy.

"And now it's time for you portkey! Good luck and be safe. Learn a lot and have fun. We will all see you in January!"

And with that Draco and Hermione both grabbed the stapler that would take them to California.

Chapter End Notes: Okaly dokaly. So our Heads have met and are on their way. Oh and don't you just love the lemon drops. Lol

Oh and the reason they have nine classes is because I took nine classes my senior year. Health, P.E. Jazz Choir, Women's A Capella Choir, Creative Writing, Government, Economics, Algebra 2 Trig, and Video Production. Lol. It can be done, even if it is a right pain the arse.

Anyway help me feed my attention whore of a muse and maybe the next chapter will get out quicker. (In other words… Review please.)

Love you all.


	5. Chapter 5: First Impressions

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Author's Notes: OMG!!! I am so sorry for you making you guys wait so long. My only excuse is that I have no air conditioning and my brain doesn't work well when it is 107 degrees inside my house. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. :( Forgive me please??? But hopefully I've redeemed myself as this is the longest chapter I have ever written. :)

Oh I had the song "Lasting Impressions" by The Starting Line in my head the entire time I was writing this chapter. Its good.

Chapter 5: First Impressions

As Draco's feet hit the hard ground he had one thought, 'Bloody Hell it's hot.' Granted that probably wasn't helped by the heavy wizard's robes he was wearing. He had only been in California for five seconds and he was already sweating and sweating was just not something that Malfoys did. He stealthily cast a cooling charm on his robes and hoped he hadn't become too shiny.

Hermione hated portkey travel. Really, she didn't care for any type of Wizarding transportation. They were all highly jarring and uncomfortable but portkeying was the worst. When she finally hit the ground it was with her bum and she had a very painful staple in her thumb. 'Seriously! Who uses a loaded stapler for a portkey?!'

"Oh, Fudge!" she exclaimed.

Draco turned to find Granger sprawled out on the ground holding her thumb to her chest.

"What's wrong with you, Granger?"

"If I tell you, you cannot make fun of me." she prompted without real hope that he would actually agree.

He chuckled, "I'll try but I make no promises."

Looking solemnly at her hand she mumbled, "Apparently the stapler had staples in it and when we landed it put a staple through my thumb," all in one breath.

Draco snorted. Yes, he ACTUALLY snorted.

"Did you just SNORT?" she mocked. For a split second she thought she saw panic flit across his pale face.

"No Granger I most definitely did not snort. I merely chuckled through my nose loudly. Malfoys do NOT snort." He tried very hard to keep a straight face, really he did, but a smirk crept through at the last minute.

Hermione laughed at his snobbish "old-Malfoy" statement, it seemed he could never completely forget his old obnoxious ways. At least the war had helped him mature a little bit. He really had been quite, dare she think it, HELPFUL to her, Harry, and Ron towards the end of the war.

Draco like her laugh, it was so genuine. In all the years he had known her he had only ever heard her laugh a couple of times, granted that might have been because he spent half of his life trying to make her cry. He thought, in hindsight, that making her laugh was much more enjoyable.

He bent down next down to her and said, "Let me look at your hand, Hermione."

'Did he just call me Hermione?' she thought, shocked. 'Yes, I think he did.' It was nice, maybe he would do it again.

She gave him her hand and heard him give a sharp intake of breath.

"Ok, I'm going to pull the staple out. You might not want to watch."

She turned away and held her breath. There was a sharp pulling pain and then she heard a muttered "Episky."

"There good as new. Better even." He smirked.

"Thanks Draco."

Woah. She just called him Draco. And he liked it, in fact he thought he liked it a little too much, judging from the uncharacteristic flip his did. Well, one thing was certain. This would be an interesting year if after only ten minutes they were suddenly on a first name basis.

Suddenly they heard their names being called in the distance. They saw two people walking towards them while waving and went to join them.

The first was short sliver of a girl with long, flowing, pin-straight, blonde hair. She was beaming as though this was the happiest moment of her life. Hermione couldn't help but smile back – it was contagious.

Her companion was a tall, muscular boy with a dark faux-hawk and startling blue eyes. Hermione saw Draco stand up straighter and puff out his chest next to her. 'Boys,' she giggled inwardly.

"Hi, I'm Julietta March, but you can call me Jules, everyone does. You must be Hermione and Draco. I can't tell you how excited we are that you are here." The blonde blurted out without stopping to breathe once. "Oh and this is Chris Allen."

Chris smirked and shook their hands. Hermione couldn't help but admire his biceps and the blush when he flexed to show her that he noticed.

"I'm afraid there is quite a walk up to the school," Chris remarked, "You can't apparate or portkey right into the school."

"Oh we're used to that by now, Hogwarts is the same the way." Hermione replied.

"I expect our things are already up at the school, right?" spoke the drawling voice next to her for the first time.

"Um, yeah they are already in our suite."

"Well, we should hurry 'cause we're supposed to meet Dean Wilson in ten minutes," Jules piped in.

As they walked towards the school Julietta talked non-stop, "In case were wondering we are the Head Girl and Boy… I can't believe we get to go to Hogwarts next semester… I'm sure you'll be glad to know we don't wear uniforms here, just Muggle casual, if you don't have any we can totally go shopping… I can't wait to show you guys around, this is going to be so much fun…" By the time they reached the school, she was practically hyperventilating and the rest of them were trying desperately not to crack up. Her personality was catching.

"Dude Jules take a chill pill. You're going to make them turn around and hightail it outta here." Chris chuckled.

Jules blushed a red worthy of Weasley and turned scared eyes to them as if afraid that they really would leave because of her.

Draco laughed and said, "Actually you remind me a lot of Hermione."

Hermione whipped around to face him, "What?!"

"Oh come on, do you remember yourself in first year? You were a nightmare Granger."

"You sound like Ron." She ground out even though she was slightly amused. She was quite aware how "nightmarish" she had been,

"Well, I'd never thought I'd live to hear myself say this but, Weasley was right." He truly did shocked to hear himself say that and they both started cracking up.

"Later tonight you'll have to tell all about your friends back home. Ron sounds very interesting." Jules said eagerly. This only made them both laugh even more; "Interesting" wasn't exactly how either of them would have described Ron.

When she finally got her laughing under control Hermione agreed, "Ok but only if you fill is in on everyone here.

"Deal!" Jules bounced with glee.

"Well here we are," stated Chris.

Draco and Hermione both looked at the simple door that was exactly like all the other doors in the school except that it had a brass nameplate that read "Dean Robert J. Wilson." Hermione let out the tiniest giggle and Draco smirked.

"What?" asked Chris.

They were both thinking of the massive stone gargoyle entrance to Dumbledore's office.

Draco replied, "Oh, you'll when you get to Hogwarts."

"Ok," Chris voiced skeptically, "If you say so."

Jules knocked on the door and it was opened by a strapping man who couldn't have been more than thirty-five years old and who looked as though he belonged on surfboard more than in a school.

"Hello," he intoned in a deep baritone, "You must be Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Come in. Make yourselves at home."

The Dean's office was very… well, "Chill." The walls were painted a deep sea blue and there were lavender scented incenses burning in a dish in his desk. The entire far wall was a huge window with a view looking out over a street onto the ocean. Hermione thought it must be enchanted as they hadn't seen the ocean at all when they arrived. However when she questioned Dean Wilson about it he replied, "Oh no, it is most definitely real. The school is right on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Coast Highway. We have enchanted the area around the school so that Muggles don't come near while looking for a view."

"We can actually take you down to the beach after we've shown you around if you'd like," Jules interjected excitedly. "Most of the school is probably down there 'cause classes start tomorrow. There is actually going to be a last night of summer bonfire tonight."

Hermione wondered why she was saying all this in front of the Dean as it sounded rather… well illegal, but when she glanced over at him she noticed he had his fingers in his ears and seemed to be daydreaming.

When Chris saw Draco and Hermione's confused looks he added, "It's tradition here, every year on the last night of summer we throw a huge rager down on the beach and the teachers pretend it isn't happening. They were all in our positions once, right?"

Hermione looked momentarily scandalized until she remembered all the things she and the boys had gotten up to at Hogwarts. They really never got in trouble at all, in fact most of the time they were rewarded for their deadly midnight jaunts. After all that this seemed like a rather mild thing to ignore.

When Dean Wilson removed his fingers from his ears he was smiling at them all conspiratorially.

"Well Draco and Hermione I want to welcome you to Washington High, I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do an exchange with Hogwarts. But the timing has never been right, what with your war and all. I heard you are both war heroes, correct?"

"Well sir," Hermione started, "I'm not sure either of us would call ourselves that."

"But you both received Orders of Merlin, First Class. Surely that implies that you did something to earn them?"

"You could say that I guess," Hermione said hesitantly, "but it really wasn't like we were trying to become heroes. At least it wasn't for me. I just did what I had to do to make sure no one I loved got hurt. I was never looking for an Order of Merlin, in fact I put it away as soon as I got it."

"As for me," drawled Draco, "I was just trying to save my skinny arse. My dad was Voldemort's 'right hand man' so to speak, and I didn't want to be controlled by a hypocritical, megalomaniacal, insane bastard so I ran like the coward I am to Dumbledore. Then I basically went into hiding until the Final Battle."

Dean Wilson laughed, "Those were exactly the answers I was hoping for! I'm glad to see post-war fame hasn't gone to your heads."

"Well it's not really something I'm all that proud of," Draco stated, "being the cowardly survivor, while most of my friends and family, who were on the wrong side of the war, were killed or sent to Azkaban for the rest of their lives."

Hermione decided that now was not the time to comment that most of his relatives DESERVED to be in Azkaban.

"Well, you may not be proud of it Draco, but if it makes you feel any better I think you did the right thing, going to Dumbledore. You saved yourself a lot of trouble."

Draco resisted the urge to tell the Dean that he really had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but it was hard.

Chris, sensing the growing tension in the room, cleared his throat and said. "Umm, Dean Wilson maybe you should give Hermione and Draco their schedules so Jules and I can show them around campus and then get ready for tonight."

"Right you are Chris!" Dean Wilson stated and began rifling through his desk to find their schedules. "All four of you have the same exact schedules; I thought it would be best to keep you all together."

Hermione and Draco quickly grabbed their schedules and looked them over.

7:00 – 8:00 – Ancient Runes (Mrs. Wild)

8:00 – 9:00 – Transfiguration (Mr. Smythe)

9:00 – 10:00 – Potions (Mrs. McAffee)

10:00 – 10:30 – Break

10:30 – 11:30 – US History (Mr. Ballard)

11:30 – 12:30 – American Lit. (Mr. Botton)

12:30 – 1:30 – Arithmancy (Mrs. Calvin)

1:30 – 2:30 – Lunch

2:30 – 3:30 – DADA (Mr. Goode)

3:30 – 4:30 – Algebra (Mr. Moore)

4:30 – 5:30 – History of Magic (Mr. Erickson)

"Well Draco, Hermione it's been great meeting you and I hope you have a wonderful time at Washington."

"Thank you, Dean Wilson," said Hermione.

"Yes, Good-bye Dean Wilson," mumbled Draco.

As the four teens walked out across the courtyard they looked out over the Pacific Ocean. It was beautiful, Hermione couldn't wait to get down there.

When they reached the dorm building they got into the elevator and Chris hit the button for the top floor.

"There's one floor for each grade but because the four of us are the Heads," Chris said, "we get the penthouse suite. So basically, the entire eight floor is ours."

"Nice," approved Draco.

"It's HUGE," added Jules, "You'll love it."

As they stepped out of the elevator, they saw that it was indeed "Huge". Jules and Chris took them on the "Grand Tour" through the living room, kitchen, dining room, guest bathroom, and study. Then the girls split to go check out their room. The entire room was decked out in shades of pink and purple but instead of being nauseatingly girly it was tasteful. Hermione was just so glad it wasn't scarlet and gold she didn't care what color it was.

It was as she was walking over to her trunk that she realized she didn't own any beach worthy clothes. She explained her "fashion dilemma" to Jules who said, "Oh, don't worry about it, Hermione, you can borrow my clothes for this week and then we can go shopping on Saturday. I figured you'd want to go anyway because we don't wear uniforms here. A bunch of the girls get together to go shopping every Saturday so you'll never run out of clothes trust me."

"Wait, you mean we get to leave campus every Saturday here?"

"Every Sunday, too. Don't you get to at Hogwarts?"

"Oh no, we only get to go into Hogsmeade about once every two months." Hermione replied.

"Oh well that sucks, I'll have to bring a lot of clothes."

Hermione laughed at that, she really liked Jules. Jules threw her a jean miniskirt, a tank-top, and a pair of flip flops and said, "We should probably get ready. I want to introduce you to everyone before the party starts."

And with that Hermione started getting ready, never having looked forward to a party more.

Author's End Notes: So what did'ya think???? Review and tell me. Lol

Oh also as I am supposed to be pimping the forums: GO CHECK OUT OWL POST!! GET SORTED AND CHAT WITH SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS!!!!! Now! GO! You know you want to! hehe


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Also please note that I do not condone underage drinking, but let's face facts here, IT HAPPENS.

Author's Note: Ok so the old chapters have now been beta-ed (sorry MM). And I am over my little writer's block thing. AND my internet has been turned back on, because I paid the bill!! Yay! (Note: Those were my various reasons for waiting such a long time to update. Jeez if I was reading this I would be pissed at me by this point. Sorry and thanks for sticking with me.)

Anywho time to party! Oh excuse the lame-ass chapter title. I suck at naming things.

Chapter 6: It's the End of the World as We Know It

"Nope, that one doesn't work either," Jules said and then quickly threw yet another top at Hermione. Hermione groaned and vowed that even if this top looked dreadfully awful she wasn't going to change again. She quickly pulled the form-fitting, three-quarter length, cotton top over her head. She was about to transfigure it to be a bit looser when Jules said,

"Stop! Don't you dare make it bigger. It's perfect… except…," she flicked her wand and cut a slit right down the front so that Hermione's breasts were practically pouring out of it. Hermione gasped and tried to cover herself up.

"Jules, I look like a cheap tart!" she exclaimed.

"Oh you do not, you look hot. Besides, I refuse to let you change again; we've already been in here for forty-five minutes."

The more Hermione looked at herself in the mirror the more comfortable she became with her outfit. She didn't look too slutty, just sexy. Ok, so maybe the "booty shorts" were a bit much, but Jules had insisted that she wear them. "Honey, if you got it flaunt it," she had said.

Hermione looked over at Jules, who was wearing a tube top and mini skirt and realized she would probably look just like all the other girls at the beach. She shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be, let's go."

After the girls headed off to get ready Chris showed Draco their half of the suite. Their room gave a new definition to the words "Bachelor Pad." It was decked out in silvers, grays, blacks, and the deepest red Draco had ever seen. Sophisticated and seductive, any girl he brought back here would instantly be under his spell. Add to that the fact that they had the largest plasma television he had ever encountered (and he had encountered many after the war when he discovered them at Grimuald Place and subsequently fell in love with them) and Draco Malfoy was sure he could die a happy death right there in that room.

Chris immediately walked over to the Foosball table and started spinning the bars furiously. He loved this game, he had been the champ in his elementary school, got a trophy and everything. Draco was gazing at the table with a look that battled between curiosity and disinterest, but finally curiosity won out.

"What is this thing?" he asked with a mild hint of disgust that he was actually asking.

"Foosball," Chris said while a slightly sadistic smile broke out across his face. "You wanna play?"

Draco didn't like the look of that smile but reminded himself that he was supposed to be trying to be more tolerant of things that were _different._ Before he left he had promised his mother that he would try to fit in with the Americans and that meant being more Muggl-ish as Americans were "more in touch with their Muggle side." So he agreed to try this "Floopsballs" thing.

"Ok, how do you play?"

Chris gave him a brief overview of the rules and they began to play. Chris scored his first three goals in quick succession while Draco was still trying to get a feel for the game, but he soon realized he had found a worthy opponent in Draco Malfoy. Draco for his part thought that this was a lot like dueling in that you had to have quick reactions and if there was anything war had giving him, it was the reaction time of Merlin himself.

Draco quickly tied the game up with only one goal left to win for either of them. Chris could just imagine some cheesy epic showdown music playing somewhere in the background. They shot the ball back and forth, up and down the field more times than they could count. Around and around it went bypassing each little plastic man as if it wasn't even there. The round lasted for a good ten minutes before they heard a knock at the door and both became distracted, when they glanced back down to the table they saw the ball slowly gliding into Chris' goal and Draco let out a triumphant yelp.

Chris groaned in defeat and mumbled something about "beginner's luck" under his breath that Draco never heard as he was prancing (yes, PRANCING) over to the door to let the girls in and thank them for helping him win.

"Heeeelllllllllllloooo ladies," Draco crooned.

They both laughed at his antics and Hermione said "What's gotten into you Malfoy?"

"Well, my dear inquisitive Granger, I have just discovered my new favorite game – Floopsballs."

"Floopsballs?"

"Yes, haven't you ever heard of it? I believe it is Muggle-made." He gestured over to the table and Hermione and Jules began to laugh hysterically while Chris grinned over the fact that even though he may have lost, Draco was the idiot who was calling it "Floopsballs".

"Errr… Malfoy, I believe the game's proper name is Foosball, not Floopsballs."

Draco contemplated this and decided that in order to not look like an idiot he was going to pretend he knew that all along.

"Well of course it is Granger. But I, being the creative genius that I am, have decided that Floopsballs is a much funnier name. Don't you agree?"

The girls burst out laughing again and agreed with Draco. Chris, annoyed by the whole situation, growled that they better get a move on or all the good booze would be gone by the time they got down to the beach.

And so they all crowded into the elevator to head down to the beach.

It was in the elevator that Chris and Draco finally noticed what Hermione was wearing, or rather in Draco's case, what she WASN"T wearing. To say he was shocked would be the understatement of the year; he had never seen her in so little clothing. She looked good, REALLY good. He could get used to California weather really fast if it meant she was going to start dressing like that every day.

Wait a minute, what was he thinking? This was Granger, she wasn't supposed to look sexy, she was supposed to look bookish and homely. But really if she was going to try to change that, who was he to stop her. He could just sit back and admire the view. From afar. Definitely from afar. Maybe.

Chris on the other hand thought she looked just like every other "beach bunny bimbo" he'd met. Granted there was something intriguing about her, it had to be the hair. She had the hair of a goddess. He really wanted to smell it for some inexplicable reason; maybe he could get her to dance with him tonight so he could get a good whiff in without seeming creepy.

Hermione had felt their eyes on her the entire trip in the elevator but instead of feeling awkward as she usually would have done, she felt desirable. 'How cliché,' she thought, 'that it took a makeover to make me feel alluring.' But she wasn't about to question it, for once she was just going to go with it. She was going to throw away her inhibitions just for tonight – relax and have fun. But first she needed a drink.

Almost as if someone had read her thoughts, a drink was shoved into her hands as soon as her feet hit the warm sand. Just in case she waved her wand over it to check if it was poisoned - which it wasn't (you could never be too sure, besides the practice had been ingrained in her from the war), and then slid her wand into her thigh holster.

She took a sip and grimaced. Whatever she was drinking, it tasted awful but she felt her self-consciousness slip away quickly. 'Well, now that is better,' she thought wistfully.

Jules grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to a group of girls standing in a circle chatting to each other.

"Hey, ladies," she called, "I have someone for you to meet. This is Hermione Granger, one of the exchange students from Hogwarts." The girls all gave Hermione an enthusiastic welcome and introduced themselves. She met Evangeline ("Call me Evan") Collier, Meghan O'Connor, Dylan Scott, and Katherine "Kat" Leighton.

Hermione couldn't believe how quickly she had been accepted into their gossip circle and she was soon caught up on what every member of the senior class had done that summer. She was slightly amazed at how normal their lives had been this summer when she was off fighting a war. Granted she couldn't really blame them for that now could she, they were all just lucky the war had never gotten to America.

After a few minutes talking to the girls, Draco walked past and they all got very quiet and just watched him. Hermione might have laughed if they hadn't all pounced on her with questions about him as soon as he was out of ear shot.

"What's he like?" "Is that his real hair color?" "Does he have a girl friend?" "Have you ever gone out with him?"

"Whoa, girls one at a time," she said, feeling slightly overwhelmed. "Err… Yes I do believe that is his real hair color, although I've never asked him. But seeing as it has always been that color I'm fairly sure it is au natural." One of the girls sighed and Hermione found herself strangely wary of her. She didn't understand the feeling and chose to ignore it and examine it later when she was sober.

She continued to fill them in on the "British Blonde Babe" as Malfoy had been dubbed but decided not to tell them about his sordid past. For some reason she didn't think he would want them to know about it and she didn't think it was her place to tell them. She only told them that she and Malfoy had always been enemies of a sort. This puzzled them greatly, they couldn't see how anyone would want to be enemies with "that hunk of hotness" when they could be jumping his bones instead. Hermione sighed and excused herself to get more to drink.

Draco had of course heard the entire conversation and was, for the second time that evening, shocked. Granger hadn't told them about his father or the Death Eaters or ANYTHING. "What the hell?" he said out loud to himself.

He walked briskly to catch up with her and abruptly turned her around. "What the hell was that Granger?" he questioned, not angrily just curiously.

"What the hell was what, Malfoy?"

"You didn't tell them about my life. You skimmed over everything that could be incriminating. You made me sound pleasant. Why?"

"I honestly don't know and now I'm seriously reconsidering it seeing as you couldn't even manage not to eavesdrop on my conversation." She accused.

"Granger, if you don't want anyone to eavesdrop than don't talk about them behind their backs. I for one believe that if you are being talked about you are obligated to listen to the conversation about yourself so as to make sure no one is spreading horrible lies about you. Granted usually everything horrible being said about me is true but that is beside the point."

Hermione looked taken-aback. He was right, they were talking about him, and he had had every right to spy. However that didn't make her feel any better about the situation. "Whatever Malfoy," Gods, she was ineloquent when she was drunk.

"You still haven't answered the question Granger."

"You mean there was a question in the middle of all that ramble?"

"Yes, Granger dear, there was and a simple one at that. My question was 'Why?' Why didn't you tell them about my sordid past?"

Realizing it would be better to just tell him than avoid the question she mumbled, "BecauseIdidn'tthinkyouwouldwantmeto."

"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that." He taunted with a wicked smile on his face showing her that he had indeed heard and just wanted to humiliate her a bit more.

"I said, 'Because I didn't think you would want me to.'" She growled.

"Ah, I knew it had to be some noble reason like that. Well you are right, I had hoped and it was a small hope at best that you would be discreet with my past. So I must thank you for that." Draco smiled.

Hermione blushed at the smile and was suddenly glad he had eavesdropped and glad that they had this conversation, because without it she definitely would not have been brave (or stupid was another possibility) enough to do this, "Draco would you care to dance with me?"

Draco could have sworn his jaw hit the floor and was relieved that she was currently looking down at her feet and didn't see it. This was certainly turning out to be an interesting day; he really didn't think he could stand it if she shocked him again. But still he agreed to dance with her. "Sure, Hermione, I'd like that."

She pulled him into the center of the horde of gyrating bodies and tentatively began to shift her hips from side to side. She really was a good dancer normally but he was making her very nervous. Then he slid his hand onto her hip and she felt more relaxed than if she had consumed twenty of the whatever it was she had been drinking. She began to move her hips slowly and seductively in time to the music and Draco was floored yet again.

Hermione Granger was a sight to behold out on the dance floor (well sand pit really) and Draco found the only thing he could do was just move with her. They moved closer together until they were practically touching everywhere and continued to move their hips to the beat of the crappy rap song playing in the background.

Then Draco did something he REALLY should NOT have done. He looked down. He looked down and right there in front of him were Hermione's breasts, perched quite precariously in that _thing_ she was calling a shirt. He groaned at the sight and felt himself begin to react. Well, that was one development he did not want to think about at the moment so he unlatched himself from her body and put a rather large distance between them.

Hermione was bewildered at first and couldn't figure out what she had done wrong. That was until she glanced down and saw the bulge in his pants. 'Wow,' she thought, 'I just gave Draco bloody Malfoy a boner and I'm not freaked out in the least. I must be smashed.' But was she really? She had only had one drink and she had been fairly lucid earlier. No she really wasn't that drunk. Oh dear Gods no. Was she _attracted _to Malfoy? He was obviously attracted to her… Yes, she was. Hermione Granger was attracted to Draco Malfoy. HOLY SHIT the world is coming to an end!!!!!!!!!!

So of course with the sudden realization that the world as she knew it was ending she made a break for it. She ran through the crowd, past the drink table where she grabbed another thingy, and down the coast. She didn't notice that there was someone following her for about three minutes. When she finally slowed down and sat in the damp sand at the water's edge, a panting Chris Allen plopped down next to her.

"You run fast for a girl, you know that?" he gasped.

"And you are surprisingly unfit for someone who is so muscle-y," she retorted.

He laughed and then asked, "What's wrong, and don't tell me nothing because girls don't usually go running away at a party with a drink clutched in their hand unless something happened."

Hermione sighed melodramatically and said, "I've only just realized that the world as I know it has come to an end and I am attracted to my worst enemy."

"Oh come on, we've only known each other for a day. How can we already be worst enemies?" he joked.

Hermione however didn't get the joke and just looked at him with a puzzled gaze thinking about the completely absurd statement that had just come out of his mouth. That is until she got it, which was when she started laughing uncontrollably and rolling around in the sand.

He thought she looked even more the part of the goddess with her hair fanned out beneath her and sand all in it. Which was why he swooped in and kissed her. Yes he kissed her. And she, for the second time that night, freaked out and ran. Only this time she ran for the safety of the pack. The Girl Pack. When she got back to the main party she spotted Jules and the rest of the girls right where she left them, still gossiping away.

"Well that was certainly a long drink run, Hermione," Evan joked, "and you are covered in sand, too. What _did_ you get up to while you were gone?"

Hermione smiled and said she didn't really want to talk about it and the girls continued with their gossip.

A few hours (and drinks) later Hermione and Jules stumbled into their room and collapsed on their beds. Still Hermione's brain would not rest and she dreamt of "blonde babes" and "muscle men" all night long.

Author's End Note: Well there you have it. The rave was exciting wasn't it? Not nearly as much freak dancing as I originally wanted but that just wasn't the way it worked.

Hehe about Floopsballs. That's what I used to call it and I do believe it is the first of many times our two manly men will compete against each other in our little story.

Ok so which one would you ladies (and gents, if you swing that way) rather have: Draco or Chris. I honestly don't think I can choose seeing as Chris was based off a real person. A real living breathing part of my fantasies. Grr… IDK. But let me know what you think. And I apologize for the wait again. But school has started again so updates will happen when I get around to it. Sorry.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Author Notes: Gah, I know this is becoming a bad habit. I really did have half of this chapter written when I posted this last one. But then I started feeling really inadequate after reading my sisterz stories… ugh. I sorry, I will try to be better.

Anywhoo, today we get to see the aftermath of the rave and their first day of school.

The title is from a lecture given to me by my 11th grade English teacher who is the model for Mr. Botton. Actually there isn't much modeling going on. They are basically one and the same. In fact I didn't even change the name, it seemed as though it would be a crime to do so. Sorry Botton but you were so amazingly god-like that it had to be done. Love ya!

Also, a huge thank you and lots of love for my beta and friend brandy_01. She took my mess of a chapter and made it intelligible.

Chapter Seven: Welcome to the First Day of the Rest of Your Life.

Draco Malfoy didn't _do_ hangovers. Granted, he didn't usually drink as much as he had last night, but he hadn't taken Granger's rejection well. It wasn't his fault that he had reacted to her beauty the night before. If she didn't want that happening around her, then she should cover up her goddamn perfect cleavage. At any rate, he had gotten utterly pissed and was desperately hoping that there was a bottle of hangover potion sitting at the end of his bed.

And thank Merlin and Circe, there was! He uncorked the bottle and threw back his head, pouring down the ungodly (foul?) tasting potion, trying not to let too much of it touch his tongue before laying back down in bed to wait for it to work.

On the other side of the room, Chris was just waking up, thankfully without a hangover. He had taken Hermione's rejection much better than Draco had. Besides, he had been drinking nearly every weekend since he had turned fifteen. So instead of laying in bed moaning as Draco was doing, he was laying in bed thinking of a plan to win the heart of one Hermione Granger.

So far, however, he had nothing.

Well really he knew next to nothing about the girl, except that she had been in a war and she was attracted to her worst enemy, which, if he guessed correctly was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Before he could think any more about his plan, the alarm clock began to chime loudly to the sound of some of the worst country music that he had ever heard, and both boys got out of bed to start getting ready. Well, Chris _got_ out of bed. Draco more or less _fell_ out of bed. It was a very un-Malfoy like move indeed.

Meanwhile, across the hall, Hermione and Julia were throwing the worst hexes they could think of at their poor unfortunate alarm clock. That morning it had awoken them to the sounds of a particularly shrill opera singer singing an aria. Luckily for the clock, the cleverest hexes the two severely hung-over girls could come up with were bat-bogey hexes and they just didn't work on inanimate objects.

Soon enough the girls found the hangover potions and drank them down greedily. They then grabbed their toiletries and headed out to the bathroom.

The _communal_ bathroom. 'Why, in the name of Merlin would they give us a communal bathroom when we have our own private libraries!?' Hermione grumbled to herself.

That morning, she had been unfortunate enough to find herself stuck in said bathroom with the two people she had most wanted to avoid until after the hangover potion had done its job.

Draco was back to looking at her with utter contempt while Chris just looked smug. She wasn't really sure why he looked so smug but she didn't like it one bit. She also didn't like Draco's contempt, but she wasn't sure why it was bothering her so much. After all, if he hated her again wouldn't their world be put back to rights?

Gah! She couldn't think right now. She just needed a nice hot shower. At least there were four shower stalls. She thought she would just about die if she had to wait one second more to get under the streaming hot water.

Jules on the other hand was observing the entire confrontation from the doorway.

_Well this is interesting_, she thought.

It seemed to her as though both boys had a thing for Hermione, and that things were going to get very interesting. It could also get _very _bad due to the shared living quarters. Jules decided she would just sit back and watch for now and if things got too crazy she would intervene. But for the time-being, she would just let things unfold as they were meant to.

Twenty-five minutes later, when Hermione stepped out of the shower in just a towel, she found both Chris and Draco brushing their teeth wearing only jeans. _Oh, cruel fate why must you punish me so? I saved the world from a psychotic monster don't I deserve normalcy for once? _she thought frantically. _Wait a second, what am I thinking? There are two gorgeous half naked men in my bathroom and I'm complaining?_ She laughed out loud to herself and both boys turned around and saw her.

Draco thought she had never looked so pretty as she did right then. She was positively radiant. Then something happened that almost crushed his faith in the world. Chris walked up to her and sniffed her. He actually _sniffed_ her. Draco was on the quick road to devastation when he looked at her face and realized she hadn't liked it. HAHA! Take that Sniffy McSniffsalot!

Inside he was doing the stupidest, victory dance ever, but outwardly he just smirked and then returned to brushing his teeth. Hermione excused herself and practically ran from the bathroom. She had been doing a lot of that lately, and he was going to put an end to it. Next time he and Granger met up there would be no more running.

Safely back in her room, Hermione considered her situation. She had two highly attractive men, both attracted to her. She was living every girls fantasy, wasn't she?Either way, she didn't like it- at all. She would have settled for one reasonably good-looking man being attracted to her, and that was all she needed. Instead she got drama. Drama, with a capital "D". And as far she could tell, this was not going to end well for anyone involved.

"Oh cheer up, woman!" Jules chided.

Hermione jumped, she hadn't even seen Jules there. So much for 'Constant Vigilance'.

"I'd be jumping for joy if I was in your shoes. You have the two hottest guys in the school after you. Either way you win."

Hermione chucked. Jules was obviously a 'Glass Half Full' kind of girl.

"I guess you're right," she agreed.

"Of course I am. Now let's figure out what you are going to wear today, because as good as you look in that towel, it isn't exactly up to dress code."

And so they started the never-ending search for something to wear. They finally decided on a green sundress for Hermione and a pink tee-shirt and Bermudas for Jules. Then, after doing their hair and make-up, they went down to breakfast. _Good gods_, Hermione thought, _it is such a pain in the arse trying to look pretty._

Draco had never seen so many breakfast cereals in his life. There must have been two dozen different varieties altogether. It was slightly overwhelming and he got the terrible feeling that he was going to drown in the midst of a sea of Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Cookie Crisp.

When Hermione arrived she was looking at him with a worried expression. "Malfoy are you okay? You look like you're ready to pass out."

"Oh yes I'm fine," he told her. _Much better now_, he thought. He then chose the nice and safe looking box of Cheerios to his left.

Hermione also had a bowl of Cheerios, which, for some reason made him smile. Perhaps it was because they now had something in common – They had both chosen the safe and average-looking cereal. One that Draco would soon come to find, was far more delicious than any of the other colorful, sugary cereals surrounding them.' Cheerios had suddenly become his favorite breakfast item.

Hermione, however, was amidst another "freak out". She couldn't find the pumpkin juice. She had had pumpkin juice every morning for the last six years of her life. She had even special ordered some and had it delivered to her house so she could drink it on the holidays, and now there was none. For some reason, changing schools had not freaked her out as much as the lack of pumpkin juice was. It was as if she had thought that even though everything else in her life was changing, the juice would be the constant. And now, even that wasn't.

She knew she was hyperventilating, but she just couldn't stop. Jules was trying to get her to take steady breaths and to tell her what was wrong.

"No… juice… pumpkin… changing… everything… constant…" she sputtered incoherently.

Somehow Draco had managed to figure out that Hermione wanted a glass of pumpkin juice and transfigured a glass of water into one. Chris decided not to ask how he knew how to do that already. He figured Hermione and Draco both knew a lot more magic than they should.

Hermione greedily drank down the juice and finally calmed down enough to thank Draco and apologize for her behavior. He told her not to worry about it and that he had also noticed the lack of his favorite beverage. Chris and Jules were just wondering what in the world pumpkin juice was seeing as they were fairly certain you just couldn't juice a pumpkin. So Draco conjured up two more glasses of the sweet liquid and they tried it.

"Wow," Jules exclaimed. "Thatt is amazing! We have to get them to start serving this here."

Chris only grunted a reply as he was still a bit miffed at Hermione's reaction to him in the shower that morning.

"Well, we should get going! Class starts in just a few minutes," Hermione chirped, excited about starting school again.

"Granger, class doesn't start for half an hour and none of us have finished our breakfast." Draco intoned.

Hermione sighed, "Draco we don't want to be late on our first day here. It would look bad for Hogwarts. Besides all the good seats will be gone."

Draco knew that to Granger a "good seat" was one that was right under the professor's nose, so he didn't particularly mind losing it. However, for some reason he didn't feel like upsetting her so he agreed to go but only if they sat where he chose.

"Alright," Hermione agreed apprehensively. She figured Draco would want to sit in the back somewhere, but maybe Jules and Chris could convince him to compromise.

When they reached the class room, every single seat was still available, so acting like the prat he was, Draco elbowed Hermione and teased her.

"I told you so…" he murmured.

Hermione stomped off in a huff and sat in the middle of the room leaving the rest of them to sit next to her. Jules sat down on her left with a grin. She never imagined that the exchange students would be so… entertaining.

A few minutes later, after the rest of the class had filed in, their Ancient Runes teacher strode into the room. She had short, wiry, gray hair and looked to be about five foot six. Her brisk pace reminded Hermione of Professor McGonagall, but she quickly realized this woman was nothing like her beloved Head of House and mentor.

The minute the teacher opened her mouth to give her introductions, Draco could tell that he was not going to like this class. The woman was just plain rude, and not in the endearing and sarcastic way of Professor Snape. No, this woman made it clear that she was too good for her job and that she planned on quitting as soon as she found something else.

"Welcome to all of the new ingrates. We all know this year isn't going to be any better than any of the other years you have attended here at this 'lovely institution', so I won't even bother telling you that I think we will have a good time. In fact, this year is bound to be just as boringly monotonous as every other year this place has been open, so get used to it." Mrs. Wild proclaimed right off the bat.

Hermione did not like this woman one bit. What kind of teacher started the year off like that? At least Snape had been sarcastic and everyone knew he just enjoyed making students want to piss their pants. But Mrs. Wild just seemed to genuinely despise her job. What was the point of her even being here if she was just going to be unpleasant?

Ancient Runes dragged on for the rest of the hour and every student walked out in a gloomy mood. Wild was enough to make Hermione consider dropping the subject, until she remembered that that would mean dropping a class, something she had vowed never to do again after the Trelawney debacle.

Draco, for one, was used to unpleasantness. He was the son of Lucius Malfoy and the godson of Severus Snape after all. But even he was ready to drop that class as though it were a hot potato.

Chris and Jules were somewhat immune to "Woeful Wild" by this point, but sympathized with their classmates. She had been that way since she took the position during their second year. Jules used to like to romanticize that the reason she was so sour was because she had been dumped by the love of her she has since come to realize that the woman just had a tree trunk up her arse.

The next few hours passed without much ado and Hermione felt like she was settling quite nicely. The course work had been fairly close to where she had left off at Hogwarts so far and their American History class had gone smoothly.

As they made their way to American Literature, Jules excitedly expressed that it was her favorite class. "Botton is the best teacher I have ever had in my _entire _life!" she gushed.

Chris rolled his eyes at that. He knew that Jules harbored a not-so-secret crush on their English teacher and it was almost sickening. Why couldn't girls just be content with guys who were in their own league? Why did they always have to lust after the unattainable ones? She was just going to get hurt and he could picture it happening.

Jules continued to sing Botton's praises until they reached the classroom and she had Hermione so excited about the class that they both seemed to be vibrating with anticipation. Draco, however, was betting the guy wasn't nearly as great as Jules thought he was, but he was willing to give him a chance.

As they walked into the classroom, it seemed as though everyone in the class had tried to get there as soon as possible. The newcomers found the only group of seats left and began to prepare for the lesson.

A few minutes after they had settled in, the doors burst open and a middle aged man with dark hair, a goatee, and sunglasses rode in on a skateboard. He rode up to his desk, did a kick flip and landed front and center ready to begin his opening lecture.

Draco had to say, even he was impressed. He could not imagine any of the professors from Hogwarts riding into class on a skateboard. Well he could, but it would just never have happened. The mental image of McGonagall riding a skateboard was possibly the funniest thing he'd ever thought of in his life. He made a mental note to tell Hermione about that little brain wave later.

Chris, however, was utterly unimpressed. He'd seen it all before. Botton had done the same thing every year since he started teaching at Washington, and in his opinion, it was getting old. He had been sorely tempted to hex the skateboard when he saw the doors open, but thought better of it. He was Head Boy after all and although he didn't always take the position seriously, he knew better than to assault a teacher.

Hermione was captivated by Botton's lecture. He spoke of finding yourself, expanding your horizons, and how they, as students, needed to do as much as they could to find themselves now so that they wouldn't flounder around later in life. His lecture went all over the map and back again and she instantly knew that she would love this class. She felt that it would be exactly what she needed to get back on her feet.

The lesson passed quickly and before they knew it the bell was ringing and they had to move on. The rest of the day passed in a blur of lectures, note taking, and hand cramps.

By the time the students sat down to dinner they were all knackered and ate without as much gusto as they had in the morning. What little conversation that was had was centered on the day's lessons and expectations for the next day. As Hermione climbed into bed that night, she felt confident about the upcoming year and couldn't wait to really get started.

Author's End Notes: _'Why, in the name of Merlin would they give us a communal bathroom when we have our own private library!?'_ Because my dear Granger I am a cruel and twisted authoress, and also if I didn't you wouldn't have gotten two see two half naked Adonis'. Lol.

Also sorry if Hermione and Draco seem overly melodramatic but I did warn you that this was very AU/OOC.

Also, as some of you may already know, I have taken on a TON of projects recently. I write monthly fics for my writing group, I joined the Draco Big Bang as an author and a cheerleader, I have this WIP and a couple others, AND I'm a student at Uni. So needless to say, my life is a little crazy right now. I am going to apologize in advance because I know that the speed of updates is not going to be acceptable for the next few months. I'm sorry. I hope you still love me.


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